Jorge Quezada, vice president of people and culture at Granite Construction, presenting at a conference.


track the success of its efforts around DE&I, Granite tracks its demographic employee data and communicates that information transparently on its website (www.graniteconstruction.com/compa- ny/inclusive-diversity). One early “win” that is reflected in the data: over 50% of Granite interns are now women or per- sons of color, as is 30% of new full-time employees in 2022, according to Quezada. From podcasts, to book clubs, to micro- learning DE&I sessions and more, Gran- ite’s multifaceted DE&I communications strategy reflects the company’s desire to meet employees where they are at and in whatever way they best take in information, both from an individual and a generational perspective. “We want to be inclusive of all the diversity we have at Granite today, but more importantly let’s create an environ- ment where we can keep the people we have, attract the people we want and be forward thinking,” Quezada said. “Ultimately, we want to be the employer


of choice, the company of choice, the invest- ment of choice and the community partner of choice,” he added. “Our aspiration would be that five years from now, a woman or person of color would say ‘I want to work at Granite. Not only do they build really


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CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTOR JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023


“Who doesn’t want to work in a place with an inclusive environment, where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, where they belong, are heard, and are given all the support they need to thrive and succeed?” Rob Lynch, Dome Construction CEO


cool stuff, but they have the most inclusive environment in the industry.’”


Dome Construction Embraces Change Dome Construction also undertook a significant transformation of its company culture surrounding DE&I several years ago – a process initiated by Melissa Berg, director of inclusion, culture and engage- ment, and supported by top leadership including company CEO and President Rob Lynch. Te two were panelists in a November 3 education session, “Culture of Belonging as a Talent Strategy,” during AGC of California’s CONSTRUCT 2022 Annual Conference in Rancho Mirage, CA. As detailed during that session as well as in a recent spotlight on Dome Construction (California Constructor


May/June 2022), the company’s journey towards building a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging began in 2018. Employee responses to a workplace survey highlighted issues of disparity, and additional issues were identified during a Dome Women’s Leadership Group summit, which brought together about two dozen female employees along with Lynch and Dome’s Director of Innovation and Learning, Steve Long. Tey deployed Lean construction tools to identify and categorize various roadblocks and areas for improvement during that multi-day sum- mit, with an eye on developing solutions. Dome formed a Conscious Inclu- sion Committee, which in turn hired a third-party consultant to perform a com- prehensive assessment of the company’s existing processes and procedures. Tat


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